American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, Kay Bird. The story of gifted, sensitive, complex man. (Amazon)

The Dead Hand – The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race, David E. Hoffman. How close we came to oblivion on many occasions. This is by far the most detailed book of the Soviet side of the arms race in technology terms. (Amazon)

Churchill’s Hour – A Novel of Defiance, Michael Dobbs. Dobbs has done an adequate job telling a fantastic story, with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Perhaps one for the beach. (Amazon)

The Doomsday Machine, Daniel Ellsberg. What really comes through here is not just the Mathematical detail of the thinking, but the sense in which they have built this state-machine, which is way out of control. (Amazon)

Yalta – The Price of Peace, Serhii Plokhy. A heavy read but well worth it for those interested in the origins of the Cold War. (Amazon)

The Guns of August, Barbara W. Tuchman. That we know how it ends makes it all the more painful from the first page onwards. (Amazon)